Welcome! A blog, run by Jennifer Abell, Member of the Charles County Board of Education, involving topics and issues on education and children. Comments are not official communications of the Charles County School Board but are a personal effort to be more transparent. Both complimentary comments and constructive criticism are not only appreciated but encouraged.
Student participation is also encouraged and therefore the use of proper language and decorum is requested at all times.

Education Matters!

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SCHOOL RELATED INCIDENTS

Events listed below are reported to me by the general public and are NOT obtained through my position as a board of education member. Report an incident HERE or 301-659-4112, include school, date, and incident (no names)

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, June 14 will be re-broadcast on Comcast Channel 96, Verizon FIOS Channel 12 and is available via webstream at http://www.ccboe.com/ . To view the full agenda and the various reports, please visit BoardDocs .

The below notes are my personal notes and are not intended to be all-inclusive or official minutes for the Board of Education meetings and are provided as a request from my supporters and the general public in a personal effort to be more transparent. Although I have diligently tried to make these notes as unbiased and accurate as possible, I am only human and do make mistakes.

Resolutions: Maryland/Charles County Teacher of the Year, Jillian Durr, Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Washington Post Teacher of the Year Award finalist, Kevin Barry, social studies teacher, La Plata High School

Carl Prevy - against transgender bathroom policy; discriminate is considered a dirty word but we do it all the time, we select caregivers, movies, music, etc., bathrooms should remain segregated. what is the board doing to protect the safety of our children.

Father Larry Swink - Pastor at Sacred Heart in LaPlata - against the new 'bathroom law'. for the protection of our children. great advertising for catholic schools. also unjust for the transgender child. faith does not contradict human reason. transgender is not a biological truth but an actual documented mental disorder. Proven medical fact. should be getting the child professional help. Please consider NOT doing this.

Matt Lately - father of students. provided definitions of normal, abnormal, and natural. Seventh grade daughter goes to the nurses office to change clothes and go to the bathroom.

Gene Ambrosio - resident of LaPlata. why not make the transgender student use the single occupancy bathroom. Not sharing the multiple occupancy bathroom would be in the best interest of the transgender student.

Paula ???? - 20 year resident of Charles County. Should not let federal government intimidate us. against transgender bathroom policy. wants us to stand up to the bully.

Name Unknown - against transgender bathroom policy. transgender is a mental illness, quotes statistics on transgenders and suicide. encourage students to seek help.

Chris Fawls - father of seven. Adopted youngest from another country. future of her adjustment unknown. against transgender bathroom policy and worried about the safety of special needs children like his daughter Mia.

Krista Fawls - mother of above family. four biological children and three internationally adopted. all are treated equally. discipline all equally. should not allow children to act immorally. accept the truth the are created different, male and female, by God. Must not be changed. Do not allow children to create their own morality.

Karen Cross - doesn't like that her child is being forced to feel uncomfortable and have to request the use of a separate bathroom. Potential for her daughter to undress in a locker room with a potential boy looking on. it doesn't matter who he thinks he is. how will the principal determine who is allowed to use the bathrooms and locker rooms. Has homeschooled for the past several years but daughter has just been accepted into STI program at North Point. please reverse policy.

Phyllis Lately - 4 daughters. three daughters graduated LaPlata, one at Milton Somers; shows a one dollar bill and "Trust in God". we as a nation have fallen away from God's will. Dress codes are healthy and enforced. Must protect the innocence and purity of the entire student body. 82% of transgenders students feel unsafe at school and have been bullied are beaten at school. having them use their own bathroom would protect them. "In God we Trust"

John Foster - father of two and follower of Christ. solution doesn't meet the need. puts children at greater risk on both sides. also a pastor. gender is now a subjective word. parental rights as children are being used as a social experiments. parental rights are taken away by the institution.

Allan Cox - teaches at Towson University and helped develop the Financial Literacy Course. Majority of adults 18-34 live with their parents. These are life skills being taught in this course. Don't cut the course.

Chris Ogney - daughter 13 at Stoddert; thinks the board is in plausible deniability. against transgender bathroom policy. don't know if you have a virtue until you're tested. Obama told you what to do and threatened to take away the money. courage is when a virtue is tested. Thinks Obama is lying about funding. Take a vote. Courage.

Mark Shutters - against transgender bathroom policy. forces the majority to be uncomfortable and policy is frivolous. policy is reckless. what happens when the majority all want to use the bathroom at the same time.

Nicholas Shutters - Junior at LaPlata HS. Against transgender bathroom policy. Now has to go out of his way to use the bathroom. Short bathroom break becomes a longer one. discrimination against him. transgender is not a condition, it's a choice. what if someone is raped or sexually assaulted.

Christian Inunga - SEIU Local 500 standing with the bus drivers. urge board to recognize all bus drivers as employees with benefits

Rose Paige - Voiced concern to principal and was given a nurse pass. was told she could not use the bathroom because the nurse was not in there. Now her daughter has to go to the bathroom but is scared there will be a boy in there.

Mary Stettler - bus driver for 29 years. does not believe in changing current system. out of 24 counties only four are county owned. Leave contractors in place. No one has ever been voted to speak for all drivers.

Dee Shelton - bus driver for 15 years and has worked for two contractors. responsibilities and benefits were clearly explained and comprehended. pay scale, days off, days of work, retirement benefits etc were all explained. Not one item has been reduced or eliminated. I have received everything I was promised. Only time we worry about job security is when we don't do our job. Contractors take all the risk and liability. if you don't like your job, find another one. Does not want to be a county employee.would never use children to go on strike. the few do not represent the many.

Chuck ????- transgender bathroom policy is not compassionate. trades the privacy of many for the few. disrespecting Christian values. how will we determine who is or is not transgender. can males now participate in girls sports. what are the legal implications. do we now have to provide Title 9 for those students.

Mark Koch - Koch trucking. McDonough graduate. speaker last month insinuated the buses are not safe. deeply offended. never had a ticket for buses not being safe. Surprise inspection don't just last week and are done regularly. my name is on all those buses with my family name. my children, friends and neighbors children ride these buses.

Beverly Hill - Owner and Operator of H and H bus service. Proud to be a bus contractor. don't let the few speak for all. explained in detail her accounting procedures. preventive maintenance is done.

Byron Payne - has worked for Koch trucking for 12 years. when I was hired, everything was clearly explained and I accepted the job. don't believe all the bad and we don't all need a union.

Keith McGirt - who supports the bus drivers, Michele Lomax and Agnes ???? did not have a dime to their name when they left this earth. about 50 people who did not receive their $300 reimbursement for certification. we want fairness across the board. drivers cannot purchase a new home or go to college. drivers are suffering.

Alisha Hadley - Against transgender bathroom policy. quotes the boe mission from website. this policy thwarts the intention of threat mission. transgender students are more at risk for assault and bullying. referenced minority achievement meeting. never reported that a transgender student has ever assaulted anyone in the state of Maryland. safety issue.

Kristen Long - speaking on behalf of parents at Craik Elementary. Against Ms. Calvert being moved to another elementary school. everything isn't just about test scores.

Heather mcnaulten - wants ms calvert to stay craik elementary. Last principal was a very different type of leadership. Ms calvert values the students and the parents. transgender bathroom policy very sensitive issue and I don't know what the answer is. if we want to raise caring loving compassionate children for the future we need to teach them inclusion and acceptance.

Kirk Barber - 8 children from 12 - 30. why wasn't this brought to the people before it was pushed through. it doesn't matter what you 'feel'. it's how you were born., taking a risk with our children in the bathrooms, locker rooms, etc. courage to stand up against the federal government. you work for us not the white house.

Deborah Dyson - Derek Dyson is my brother and he is here. Umbrella of 3 contractors. has provided bus service for over 46 years. participate in multiple charities and believe in giving back. we care about our employees and work side by side with them every day. surprised by some comments that have been made in the past several months. our buses are inspected and are safe. we would never compromise the safety of our children.

Connie ????? - Have never been asked if I wanted to be part of the union. I was told about some of the meetings but were told they were secret and couldn't attend. they are wrong. employed deception by people supposedly representing pro union. stop complaining and schedule a meeting to sit down and talk to your contractor or a member of transportation.

Debbie Vahle - bus driver for 13 years. hours allow me to be at home. for the last two years I have watched the pro union group. I have tried to get information to no avail. my bus has been vandalized, I do believe there needs to be more oversight over the contract. drivers need to know what the contract actually says. don't need a union if we know the boe had their backs. had other drivers stand that do not support a union.

Calvin Compton - Compton bus service; becoming union would not be a good move for the county. provided statistics. 27 small contractor bus services. wonderful employees. few disgruntled employees telling lies and making it difficult for everyone. some drivers feel intimidated by these others pro union.

The Board of Education’s next monthly meeting is Tuesday, June 14 at the Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building on Radio Station Road in La Plata. The public portion of the meeting begins at 1 p.m. and recognition starts at 4:30 p.m. The meeting is televised live on Comcast Channel 96 and Verizon FiOS Channel 12 and is rebroadcast throughout the week.

Board meetings are also streamed live on the school system website at www.ccboe.com. Select CCPS TV and then choose the Live Broadcast tab. The following is a tentative meeting agenda and is subject to change.

Executive session – 11:30 a.m.

Call to order – 1 p.m. - Pledge of Allegiance, La Plata High School

Swearing-in of new Student Board member

Recognition of high school athletes

Recognition of NAACP Read Across Charles County participants

Contract signings with Education Association of Charles County (EACC) and American

Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Superintendent’s update

Reports of officers/boards/committees

Correspondence/Board Member updates

EACC update

AFSCME update

Student Board Member update

Graduation 2016

Project status update

Redistricting

Special education committee update

Financial literacy proposal

School naming committee

Unfinished business

New business and future agenda items

New business

Out-of-county tuition rates

Future agenda items

Recognition – 4:30 p.m.

Resolutions: Maryland/Charles County Teacher of the Year, Jillian Durr, Dr. James Craik Elementary School; Washington Post Teacher of the Year Award finalist, Kevin Barry, social studies teacher, La Plata High School

ABOUT ME

"I will serve as an educational advocate on behalf of our community in order to advance the educational vision for our schools, pursue its goals, and encourage progress as we work together in a diverse society."

My Pledge To You

"I will serve as an educational advocate on behalf of our community in order to advance the educational vision for our schools, pursue its goals, and encourage progress as we work together in a diverse society."

All posts prior to November 4, 2014 are by authority of Charles Alan Denman, Treasurer